It's a very happy 2010!
 Welcome to TinyTalk, the biggest and the best baby signing organisation in the UK, Ireland and Australia (where we're called TinySign should you visit us Down Under!)
TinyTalk has been going from strength to strength since classes began in 2002- and this year has been amazing! We're now a team of just under 150 teachers, all experienced and passionate about baby sign language- and keen to pass on our top tips to you and your family.
The benefits of signing with your baby are enormous.
Here are just a few:
- knowing what your baby is thinking about, how they are feeling or what they are wanting
- giving your baby a means to express themselves, months (if not a full year) ahead of words being spoken
- 'tuning in' to your baby, giving them your time and attention
- allowing your baby to feel very happy, knowing that you've understood them!
- minimising tantrums that come from not understanding eachother
- introducing language to your baby, which then gives them the confidence to speak
- giving them a great foundation in speech and language in the pre-school years - so that they start school fully prepared and not playing 'catch up'
Just a couple of examples from my own 2 children:
- When Harry was 7 months old and I was late with his milk one morning, he gave a cry from his room and then made the 'milk' sign very clearly to me!
- When Lucy was a bit older, at 10 months, she got very excited one day when we were shopping. A flock of birds had flown down, around her pushchair. Lucy was so excited that she made the sign for 'bird' all around her, whilst also saying 'b!' 'b!' 'b!'
On both occasions the children signed something that was important to them. They were delighted to be able to express themselves. I was equally delighted to have a 'window' to their minds- not just guessing but really knowing what they were thinking about.
We now deliver over 400 classes a week, teaching baby signing to over 5000 families. Please click on the 'what clients say' button to see lots of lovely stories from happy TinyTalk families, all benefiting from teaching their babies to express themselves, long before they can speak.
In fact our TinyTalk Baby Signing Classes have been such a success that we've just launched TinyTalk Toddler Classes!
Offering the same top-quality language teaching as the Baby Signing Classes, through themes such as 'meal times' or 'bedtime', we continue to have fun with well-known action songs, sharing great story books, playing with puppets, props and percussion instruments. As the children are older though, and generally standing, the classes are more physical, with greater interaction, parachute fun and lots of language games. Again, through both speech and signs, we give your toddler the encouragement to communicate, whether through signs or speech. (One child recently said 'banana' for the first time at a TinyTalk Toddler Class!)
And, if you can't make a class, you can still learn at home, using our award-winning baby signing DVD, CDs and Signing Pack! Click on the 'our shop' button to find out more.
We also offer very comprehensive Baby Signing Training Programmes. These are for nurseries, childminders, health professionals and full-time working parents who maybe aren't able to make the classes. Please click 'group training' to find out more.
And, lastly, if you fancy joining the team, doing something fun and worthwhile, working with your baby, we'd love to hear from you!
Here's to a continued fantastic and fabulous 2010!
Katie Mayne
Founder and Managing Director
Women's Enterprise Champion, South East England |
Winner- Silver Award for Top National Baby Signing Classes, What's on 4 Little Ones, 2008
Winner- Silver Award for DVD and Signing Pack, Practical Pre-School Awards, 2006
Advocate and Ambassador for the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), 2009, inspiring and encouraging women into business |
